Review: Serenity Star from aden + anais

It’s amazing to me how much gear babies need. But what is more amazing to me is that even after the first baby, I still needed more gear! With two kids under two in separate rooms, we have two cribs, two sets of bedding, etc. To cut down on even more stuff, I had been relying on a hodge podge of gadgets to get my daughter to sleep: a fan for a white noise machine, a humidifier that serves as a nightlight, and a digital clock for telling time. When my son came along, though, I didn’t want to nor was I able to replicate that complicated web of half-solutions. So, I was super excited to get the (one of my favorite baby products companies), that seemed to elegantly combine all the functionality I needed into one cute package.

The Serenity Star is a feeding and sleep system that combines a breastfeeding tracker, nightlight, white noise machine, digital clock, and room temperature indicator into one simple, stylish device. It can run on batteries or plug directly into the wall and looks like a piece of nursery decor, rather than the technical powerhouse that it is. On that alone, I was sold – we could all use a lot more cute and a lot less complicated in our lives, right?! While I did have to consult the instruction manual, it was up and running in just a few minutes. Here’s the lowdown:

Pros: * It’s an aesthetically pleasing addition to any nursery, regardless of theme. * The star efficiently combines what could be 5 different items into one, saving space and money. * The timer allows you to set the duration of the white noise, so you won’t have to go back in later to shut it off once the baby is asleep. * A quick push of a button allows you to record last feeding. You might think this is unnecessary, but in the depths of sleep deprivation, it’s hard to remember even the simplest of things.

Cons: * The light is really bright, perhaps too bright, especially if you’re trying to get a newborn’s days/nights turned around. (On the plus side, though, you can do a diaper change without turning on the lights.) I wish the light were on the same timer as the noise and could turn off after a certain amount of time as well. * The white noise options weren’t particularly soothing to me. I would like to have an ocean or rain option. * Rather than using color to indicate temperature, I would prefer it to indicate time of day. Green when it’s ok to get out of bed, and red when it’s 4am, for example. Then we could really get rid of all other devices in the room.

In all, this is a powerful shining star that does a lot of work in a little space. It’s an elegant solution to many needs and I hope the next version does even more.